Britain on Friday designated Google with "strategic market status" in online search, the first time it has deployed new powers to tackle the dominance of big tech and paving the way for interventions it deems necessary.

The Competition and Markets Authority's move enables it to compel the Alphabet-owned company to change the way it operates in Britain in the search market.

"We have found that Google maintains a strategic position in the search and search advertising sector – with more than 90% of searches in the UK taking place on its platform," the CMA's Executive Director for Digital Markets Will Hayter said in a statement.

The watchdog said the designation was not a finding of wrongdoing and that it did not introduce any immediate requirements.

Google's Senior Director for Competiti

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